| STAY TUNED FOR BRENT'S UPCOMING PROJECTS |
| Brent's One Man Show LOOKING FOR AMERICA |
| FINISHED A SUCCESSFUL RUN OCTOBER 2009 |
| at The Laurie Beechman Theatre at The West Bank Cafe |
CABARET SCENES REVIEW OF LOOKING FOR AMERICA
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Many a young man has left his Midwest homeland
to seek a new life in New York City. Some have translated that personal
experience into song and story on the cabaret stage, but none with more
easy-going warmth, charm and vocal talent bundled together than
Arkansas-born Brent Winborn. Titled Looking for America, Brent’s
show, melding monologue and music, captures a boy’s coming of age in
America’s heartland, following an urge to see the nation’s fields and
roads, then finding fulfillment in the city. Brent’s background as an
actor and singer, together with his ability to move seamlessly between
the two skills, make for an easy-going continuity that masks the
professionalism behind it. The show features more than a dozen songs,
ranging from folk- and country-style pieces to more modern ones by such
writers as Rufus Wainwright, Paul Simon, Alan Menken, Jule Styne and
Paul Williams. Top-flight piano work and harmonizing is provided by
Rick Jensen, with warm cello accompaniment by Arthur Cook. Behind the
scenes as director is the masterful Lina Koutrakos.
Peter Haas
Cabaret Scenes
June 23, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org
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| COME IN OUT OF THE SNOW AND
CATCH THE KOUTRAKOS/JENSEN WORKSHOP
HOLIDAY SHOW
DEC. 20, 2009 3PM
DON'T TELL MAMA
343 W. 46TH STREET
(212)757-0788
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
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"Winborn rates an A-plus"
Peter Leavy - Cabaret Scenes
Full text of the review of AS LONG AS I'M SINGING
In his show at the Duplex, As Long As I'm Singing, subtitled The Music of Bobby Darin, Brent Winborn has woven a history of the late rock and country singer into a narrative that flows effortlessly, and poignantly, through a skillfully chosen selection of songs associated with the popular songwriter/vocalist. This is the kind of program made to order for the intimacy of the small room.
Gifted with a polished stage presence, good looks and a warm, appealing voice, Winborn introduces his audience early-on to Darin’s ill-fated onset of heart-damaging rheumatic fever when he was eight years old, and the medical prognosis that gave him less than another ten years. The bright side of the coin is that Darin proved the doctors wrong; as a rock-and-roll star, he became the idol of American teenagers, a Las Vegas headliner, a multiple Grammy winner, and a highly regarded film actor. The dark side is that, largely unknown to his public, Darin suffered from ill health until he succumbed in 1973 at the age of thirty-seven.
It takes fine judgment properly to bring to a cabaret audience Darin’s life story, affording the songs a third dimension, without becoming maudlin. Winborn rates an A-plus on that score, and straight A’s as well for his vocal abilities, his interpretation of the songs, and his ability to make his listeners feel almost as if it is all one-on-one. Musical Director Rick Jensen and Tech Director Thomas Honeck sustained the emotional mood of the program with excellent effect. Lina Koutrakos directed.
Peter Leavy, Cabaret Scenes Oct. 25, 2005 www.cabaretscenes.com
photo by Ben Strothmann design by D. Bruce Stevens
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Brent with MAC 2006 Best Musical Director Rick Jensen (center)
From top center Jeff Priore, Carol Savaas & Margaret Curry at the MAC Award's after party in Tribeca.
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| email Brent at brent@brentwinborn.com |
| Brent appeared with Karen Mason, Alison Fraser, Brandon Cutrell, John Wallowitch, & Kristy Cates from the cast of WICKED in Storefront Theatre's New Mondays Benefit June 28, 2004 at the Lucille Lortel Theater in Greenwich Village photo by Patricia Kantzos ______________________
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AD from Brent's popular 2003 show WELCOME TO THE 60s
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CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE REVIEW OF "WELCOME TO THE 60S" While growing up, I always enjoyed the Perry Como show - especially his "laid-back" style of singing. Brent Winborn, who appeared recently at THE DUPLEX CABARET THEATRE (61 Christopher Street, NYC http://www.theduplex.com/), has a different vocal sound, but that same, easygoing attitude. His show was called "Welcome to the 60s," and featured Rick Jensen as musical director. It was a delightful tour of an era that I doubt Mr. Winborn actually remembers, but I certainly do - I finished college in the early 60s, was driving a car a lot, with the radio always on. Mr. Winborn's bright personality always carried the show along. A particularly inventive "Rainy Days and Mondays" sung a Capella, with Jensen singing all the doo-wop harmonies on backup, was a masterpiece. The "Hair Medley" combined 60s tunes from the show with a song from the current "Hairspray." The much longer "British Invasion" medley was particularly evocative of that era. It was a fun-filled hour of memories, combined with some handsome vocals sung by a handsome guy. ----Stu Hamstra __________________________________________
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Brent meets Tippi Hedren star of Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS while on vacation in Californina summer 2004 ___________________ "Be very afraid!!!"
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